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Theseus’ Paradox was a thought problem first
put forth by the Greek essayist Plutarch. In
a nutshell, the question it poses is: Does an
object that’s had its entire component pieces
replaced remain, fundamentally, the same object?
It’s a good question for the Smashing Pumpkins.
Front man Billy Corgan has replaced the entire
original line-up, and even Corgan’s own voice
has deepened and mellowed over the years since
the “Mellon Collie” creative high point. The
result, as far as it relates to “Oceania,” is
an album that — while technically solid — feels
devoid of the driving emotion that made the
Pumpkins so viscerally important to fans in
the first place. There’s nothing on “Oceania”
that feels like a klunker, but there’s nothing
that feels all that vital, either. All the band’s
contempt and anger has been replaced by a kind
of ennui that just leaves you flat. CV

The
Flaming Lips

‘The Flaming Lips and Heady Fwends’

Warner Brothers

As a general rule, Flaming Lips albums are
good for two things: listening to while you’re
high on your drug of choice and getting second
year art majors into bed. As a band, the Lips
put on an amazing, first rate, not-to-be-missed
live show. But that’s 70 percent spectacle and
30 percent sound. With the spectacle removed,
Flaming Lips albums too often are unfocused,
meandering experiments in raw sound. “Heady
Fwends” is exactly that, only with the added
benefit of guest artists ranging from Erykah
Badu to Yoko Ono to Chris Martin to Ke$ha. Lips
front man Wayne Coyne is capable of flashes
of absolute brilliance, and the album does have
high points: Badu’s cover of “The First Time
I Ever Saw Your Face” and the Neon Indian assisted
“Is David Bowie Dying?” are revelatory. But
outside of those transcendent moments, there’s
almost no difference between the Flaming Lips
and the Grateful Dead. CV